The Concept Car: 5 Futuristic Sports Cars

3- Saturn Curve Also released at the NAIAS, the Saturn Curve was a surprise to the thousands of people who patrolled the exhibition. Saturn is known (for the most part) as a family-friendly automaker that takes great pride in its safe, reliable cars and close relationships with customers. Thus, the Curve is a strong deviation from Saturn's roots but is in no way a chump car.

Naturally, you'll first notice this sports coupe's bold look. The two-seat cockpit is set toward the rear of the car, making for a stubby rear (a cool feature on cars but not on women) and longer front. The front fenders and rounded lines make the Curve look somewhat like a dog's muzzle and the small windows, front grille and sharp headlights add to this mean, powerful look.

Beneath the Curve's sculptured hood you'll find a 2.2-liter GM Ecotec four-cylinder engine, supercharged to meet the demands of a sports car driver. This set up is capable of producing 230 horsepower and 220 pound-feet of torque if you control the five-speed manual transmission properly.

Though the Curve shares the same patented Kappa platform as the Pontiac Solstice and Chevrolet Nomad (both concept cars as well), it has none of the same retro stylings of these two. Instead, Saturn pushes the envelope with its futuristic exterior and focus on handling: the 20-inch wheels and rear-wheel drive make for a curb-hugging, sporty ride.

Distinguishing Feature: The wood panel interior, which creates the illusion that the center console and door panels are floating in the car.

4- Audi Le Mans Quattro Wishing to translate the years of success they have had on the rally car racing circuit to the highway, Audi came up with a concept car based on their successful R8, three-time winner of the Le Mans 24-hour race. The result is the very sexy Le Mans Quattro, first shown to the public at the 2003 Frankfurt Auto Show.

You'll notice that Audi's concept looks like a cross between a Porsche 911 Carrera and an Audi TT — not a bad combination. The vent-like grilles adorning both the front and back are certainly unique additions, while the rear spoiler is both functional, claims Audi, and aesthetic.

When it comes to appearance, though, the award for creativity goes to the headlights and rear brake lights, which are made up of a matrix of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and provide a very cool visual effect as well as pin-point illumination for night-driving. In a final flash of brilliance, the Audi designers added a tone-on-tone panel on both sides of the concept car, behind the doors. This eye-catcher means no one will forget what the Le Mans Quattro looks like.

Like a woman, a car is not all about looks, right? Under the hood of the Le Mans Quattro is a twin turbocharged 5.0-liter V10 engine, which can generate 610 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. Drivers dictate the power with a six-speed transmission with sequential shifting.

Due to the presence of an electro-hydraulic system, you can take off in this baby without the use of a clutch and go from standstill to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. Even with this speed, you'll be able to handle the car easily thanks to Audi's four wheel-drive system, indicated by the "Quattro" in the name.

Distinguishing Feature: The driver-centric interior design, which includes a digital display, so that drivers can switch from oil-temperature information to a speedometer reading or GPS-aided map.